North of 60 Mining News - The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North

Graphite One Inc. March 18 reported that all six holes drilled last year at Graphite Creek, a large-flake graphite deposit about 37 miles (60 kilometers) north of Nome in western Alaska, cut sections topping greater than 10 percent graphite

The best hole, 18GC026, cut 5.8 meters of 8.06 percent graphite from 27.8 meters; and 16.3 meters of 11.93 percent graphite from 44 meters.

While this hole contained the widest intercept when considering both grade and width, all of the holes drilled into the Graphite Creek resource area during 2018 encountered similar mineralization.

• Hole 18GC022 cut 25.3 meters of 7.76 percent graphite from 53.8 meters; 1.3 meters of 14.4 percent graphite from 43 meters; and 8.5 meters of 10.81 percent graphite from 104.6 meters.

• Hole 18GC023 cut 8.7 meters of 8.05 percent graphite from 19 meters; 11.2 meters of 7.13 percent graphite from 85 meters; and 1.5 meters of 10.4 percent graphite from 158 meters.

• Hole 18GC024 cut 4.6 meters of 12.27 percent graphite from 28.9 meters; 20.5 meters of 7.71 percent graphite from 39 meters; 5.3 meters of 9.32 percent graphite from 66.7 meters; and 2.4 meters of 11.14 percent graphite from 131.1 meters.

• Hole 18GC025 cut 16.7 meters of 7.8 percent graphite from 52 meters; and 1.7 meters of 25.14 percent graphite from 85.9 meters.

Drilled perpendicular to the lenses of large-flake graphite, these intercepts represent the true width of mineralization and will be used to upgrade resources within the current deposit area.

"The drilling results conform to our past exploration programs, and will allow us to update our resource estimates," said Graphite One President and CEO Anthony Huston.

According to a calculation completed early in 2017, Graphite Creek hosts 744,000 metric tons of graphite in 10.32 million metric tons of indicated resource grading 7.2 percent graphitic carbon; plus 4.7 million metric tons of graphite in 71.24 million metric tons of inferred resource averaging 7 percent graphitic carbon.

This already large resource represents only a small portion of the graphite that is either outcropping or indicated by a strong electromagnetic geophysical signature along 11 miles of the Kigluaik Mountains on the Seward Peninsula.

Graphite One Inc.

The high-grade graphite tapped during the 2018 drill campaign will be used to calculate an updated resource estimate for the Graphite Creek project in western Alaska.

"The fact that our deposit remains open and relatively unexplored to the east and west of our identified resources, and that the down dip extent to the north has not yet been defined, underscores for us that we're only beginning to realize the full potential of our project," said Huston.

In addition to drilling, the 2018 field program included preliminary field surveying and an aerial LiDAR survey along possible access routes connecting to the existing state-maintained road system on the Seward Peninsula.

Surface water sampling and anadromous fish surveys were also completed in 2018, adding to previous environmental baseline studies that will be needed to permit a mine at Graphite Creek.

In addition to the mine, Graphite One is planning to build a processing facility that would refine the concentrates shipped from Graphite Creek into the spherical graphite used as anode material in lithium-ion batteries, as well as other graphitic products.

The company is considering locations in Alaska and Washington for this processing facility.

–SHANE LASLEY